Drone Laws in Denmark (Complete 2023 Guide)

There are three operational categories that determine that type of regulations regarding drone use. Since most drones fall in the “open” category that’s what we’ll cover here. (if you’d like to learn more about this, check my in-depth article about drone laws in the European union).

What makes a drone in the “Open” category?

Good question, a drone can be considered in the “Open” category if it fills the following conditions:

• Your drone has one the class identification labels from 0 to 4 (I go more into this in my E.U drone laws article).
• Your drone was purchased before January 2023.
• Your drone’s maximum lift-off weight is 25kg or less.
• You as a pilot always keep your drone away from people (your type of operations don't need proximity to people).
• You’ll always maintain a visual line of sight.
• You won’t fly your drone over 120m in the air (or you can’t, since some drones restrict flight by altitude).
• Lastly, your drone won’t carry any dangerous or explosive material.

So based on all of the above and IF your drone is considered in the “Open” category, here are the regulations you must keep in mind.

General rules for drone flight in Denmark

• You (pilot/owner) must be registered with the Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority.
• You must mark your drone with your name as the owner, your phone number, and the registration number assigned by the Danish Transport, Construction and Housing Authority.
• If your drone is a microdrone (i.e weighs less than 250g) or has a max speed below 50 km/h, you can forgo the rule above and fly without registration.
• If your drone weighs more than 7 kg, you must have a drone awareness accreditation, given by the Danish TCHA.
• You must be at least 16 years old to fly a drone. If you’re between 12-15 there is a test that must be taken before you can fly. Pilots below 12 years old can fly only with a guardian supervising them.
• If your drone weighs more than 250g, you must be covered with insurance with a total sum of 0.75 million euros in coverage.
• The max weight of your drone on lift-off cannot be more than 25 kg.
• You can’t fly your drone above 100m in altitude.
• You must show consideration to your surroundings and fly in a way that causes no inconvenience whatsoever to the people around you.
• You cannot approach a person (horizontally) by less than 50 meters. Unless that person is part of the operation.
• You must always give way to manned aircrafts.
• Keep away from military bases by a distance of at least 8 kilometers.
• You cannot fly your drone over densely populated built-up areas (we’ll discuss what built-up areas are later in this article).
• Don’t fly your drone close to another drone to avoid the danger of collision.
• If you want to fly your drone beyond visual line of sight, or above 100m in altitude, you need to get special permission from the danish Transport, Construction and housing authority.
• To fly at night, the drone must be equipped with a light that allows the operator to see the drone during flight, including how the drone is oriented in the air. 

If you’re thinking to yourself how that’s a long list… Well, it’s about to get longer. There are also laws that dictate drone use in built-up areas. But before we go into those, let’s talk about what built-up areas are first.

What are built up areas in Denmark?

According to the Denmark authorities themselves, An urban area is defined as a built-up area with at least 200 inhabitants. In a built-up area the distance between the buildings is not more than 200 meters, unless the interruption is due to public facilities, parks, cemeteries, etc

Rules for flying your drone in a built up area in Denmark

Like I said, in addition to all the rules discussed above, there are other rules that dictate drone flight in areas essentially used for habitation, commercial or recreational purposes, e.g. sports halls, summer cottage areas, inhabited camping sites and built-up industrial and harbor areas.

Parks and beaches are also considered built-up areas since they’re close to populated areas and to roads.

• You can only fly your drone in built-up areas for professional purposes (which kind of sucks, seeing as how a lot of national parks in Denmark are considered built-up areas).
• You must be at least 18 years old.
• You can’t fly your drone above 120m in altitude. 
• You’ll need a drone license applicable to the type of flight you’re willing to conduct. It’s issued by the Danish Transport, construction and housing authority. See here for details.
• You need to have experience as a drone pilot before flying in built-up areas. 15 flights for a total of 5 hours of flying outside built-up areas.
• You’re going to need to notify the local police 24 hours before your flight (not to ask for permission, just to notify them).
• If you want to fly your drone beyond visual line of sight, or above 120m in altitude, you need to get special permission from the danish Transport, Construction and housing authority.
• A special license is required if you want to fly at night. You should contact the Danish Transport, Construction and housing authority.
• Within 24 hours after finishing the flight,you should enter information on the flight in a log or corresponding document.

If you need more information on flying a drone in built-up areas in Denmark, you can check this document from the  Danish Transport, Construction, and Housing Authority.

Airspace Restrictions

Sometimes temporary restrictions that weren’t there before can take place in certain areas. Sometimes these restrictions are permanent. Whichever it is, it’s your responsibility to be informed before you take your drone for flight.

All the airspace restrictions in denmark can be found by going to droneluftrum.dk and finding the app “Droneluftrum”.

Conclusion

Denmark is home to many beautiful historical sites that make for some of the best shots and films out there. I think any drone enthusiast visiting Denmark should take their time and take as much footage as they can, but only after familiarizing themselves with the legal landscape regarding drone use.

Otherwise you might find yourself with your drone confiscated, a 4 digit euro penalty or worse, even jail time in some rare cases.